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Therefore, no light from the source will be accepted by the analyzer, and the field will appear dark. Areas of the sample possessing birefringence will generally couple some of the x-polarized light into the y polarization; these areas will then appear bright against the dark background. Modifications to this basic principle can differentiate ...
Brewster's angle (also known as the polarization angle) is an angle of incidence at which light with a particular polarization is perfectly transmitted through a transparent dielectric surface, with no reflection. When unpolarized light is incident at this angle, the light that is reflected from the surface is therefore perfectly polarized.
Refractive index. In optics, the refractive index (or refraction index) of an optical medium is the ratio of the apparent speed of light in the medium to the speed in air or vacuum. The refractive index determines how much the path of light is bent, or refracted, when entering a material. This is described by Snell's law of refraction, n1 sin ...
Caustic (optics) In optics, a caustic or caustic network[1] is the envelope of light rays which have been reflected or refracted by a curved surface or object, or the projection of that envelope of rays on another surface. [2] The caustic is a curve or surface to which each of the light rays is tangent, defining a boundary of an envelope of ...
Snell's law. Refraction of light at the interface between two media of different refractive indices, with n 2 > n 1. Since the velocity is lower in the second medium (v 2 < v 1), the angle of refraction θ 2 is less than the angle of incidence θ 1; that is, the ray in the higher-index medium is closer to the normal.
Newton's rings is a phenomenon in which an interference pattern is created by the reflection of light between two surfaces, typically a spherical surface and an adjacent touching flat surface. It is named after Isaac Newton, who investigated the effect in 1666. When viewed with monochromatic light, Newton's rings appear as a series of ...
Stereo microscope. Optical or light microscopy involves passing visible light transmitted through or reflected from the sample through a single lens or multiple lenses to allow a magnified view of the sample. [11] The resulting image can be detected directly by the eye, imaged on a photographic plate, or captured digitally. The single lens with ...
A ray of light being refracted in a plastic block. In physics, refraction is the redirection of a wave as it passes from one medium to another. The redirection can be caused by the wave's change in speed or by a change in the medium. [1] Refraction of light is the most commonly observed phenomenon, but other waves such as sound waves and water ...